A plumber was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after a 999 alert in Hemel Hempstead’s Leverstock Green Road this evening.
Fire crews from the town’s Queensway base – including a unit specially trained to deal with chemical incidents – were called in after the alarm was raised just after 6pm.
Also at the scene were colleagues from St Albans.
It is believed that the plumber was using specialist materials to clear a blockage in one of the flats on the other side of the road from the Crabtree pub, but these combined with bleach which had already been used in a bid to solve the problem.
He was affected by the resulting fumes, and so was the householder.
The plumber was taken to hospital by ambulance while the householder received first aid at the scene while the fire crews made the scene safe.